It didn't have to go down this way. There's no reason the NFL had to wait until the Green Bay Packers were fleeced by a ridiculous "simultaneous catch" judgment call on the final play of Monday night's loss to the Seattle Seahawks to reach a labor agreement with regular officials.

If the Packers miss out on the playoffs or lose the NFC Central by one game, then taking away what should have been a win-preserving interception for M.D. Jennings will only enlarge the black eye on the NFL.

It finally made the pension concessions to the referees that should have been made months ago.

Commissioner Roger Goodell looked bad on Tuesday by not owning up to the brutal inefficiency of head official Wayne Elliott and his crew, though Goodell did acknowledge Seattle's blatant offensive pass interference.

Goodell's letter to NFL fans read, in part: "I regret we were not able to secure an agreement sooner in the process and avoid the unfortunate distractions to the game. You deserve better."

The half-hearted apology was a bit late. In this case, the NFL got burned by its own arrogance. ...

The Jaguars' anemic pass rush could benefit from the return of defensive end Austen Lane on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, even if he only plays 15 to 20 snaps. You can't have starters Jeremy Mincey and Adrian Branch playing a combined 150 snaps and expect to effectively put down the opposing quarterback. The good news is that the Bengals' Andy Dalton isn't as hard to chase down as Andrew Luck. ...

If Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel has another signature game like he did against Clemson, and the Seminoles run the table, his name will be engraved on the Heisman Trophy. ...

Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, on whether Chipper Jones is a first-ballot Hall of Famer: "I don't think there's no doubt, but you never know. There are so many things behind the scenes with the Hall of Fame. But this kid, he grew up in the era when baseball was a little dirty and did it the right way." ...

Best scenario to root for in the Ryder Cup: The outcome riding on a Sunday singles match between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, though the downside is that might cut into the Jaguars' TV ratings. ...

Even late-night comedians are tweaking the New York Jets' backup quarterback. From a Jay Leno monologue: "Tim Tebow says he's thinking about running for office. Well, of course he's thinking about running. He can't pass." ...

What do you know Gene? Keep your opinions to yourself. The guy is in charge of a leading sports league. You are a sports reporter in a small market. I'm sure Goodell could find many things to give his opinion on regarding your writing, the people around here sure do. But.....he doesn't even know who you are.

Gene, in regards to your "picks" section: Keep your day job. Not funny. Never has been. Never will be. Not sure why you do this year in and year out. In fact, I rarely read your weekend write up so that I can avoid seeing this failed attempt at humor. I was suckered in by the Goodell title/topic.